Local Implementation Support

ONC provides local EHR implementation support for physicians and health care providers through its Regional Extension Centers program. Below youâ€™ll find stories of EHR/EMR implementations, tips for those in the midst of an implementation, and stories highlighting how the Regional Extension Centers have helped physicians throughout the country make the transition to electronic health records.â€ƒ

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A common concern about health information technology (health IT) adoption is that it may not be feasible for small practices and those serving safety-net populations. Due to economies of scale, implementation and meaningful use of health IT is far less daunting for larger, commercial health care organizations. Even so, some small practices and community health centers around the country are actively defying that statement.

A recent New Yorker article by Atul Gawande skillfully draws an analogy between today’s health care crisis and the food crisis our country faced a century ago. Whereas the heath care system currently consumes about 17% of the U.S. economy, Americans spent more than 40% of their income on food at the turn of the last century. Like our current health care system, there existed a huge chasm between what science suggested could be achieved in improved quality and productivity and how farmers dispersed throughout the country were actually practicing.

Gawande describes how the federal government developed the agricultural extension program to bring the latest science to real-world practice. By finding practicing leaders in the community, developing pilot projects, providing implementation expertise and technical assistance, and continuously building on what was learned, these regional extension centers developed best practices that ultimately became embedded into U.S. farming practice. A century later, food consumes just 8% of household income.